Further rough sleeping increase in London

New figures reveal that 2,561 people slept rough in London between January and March 2016.

The new figures have prompted a call from the Lead London Home Campaign for the new Mayor of London to make rising homelessness his 'first priority'.

As Sadiq Khan takes office, the figures show a nine per cent rough sleeping increase on the same quarter in 2015. Since 2010, the number of people sleeping on the streets of the capital has more than doubled.

Lead London Home is a campaign launched by homelessness charities including Crisis, St. Mungo’s, Centrepoint and Homeless Link calling for bold action in London to address homelessness. 

Jon Sparkes, chief executive of Crisis, said on behalf of Lead London Home: “As he takes office, the first priority for our new Mayor must be to arrest this rise in rough sleeping and help the thousands of people who find themselves homeless each year.                                                

“Bold action will be needed to make this happen. Before the election we laid out what needs to be done by the new Mayor to stem the rising tide of homelessness. As he embarks on his mayoralty, we call on Sadiq to work with us to develop and deliver ambitious policies to address this problem.”

Last year over 7,500 people were seen sleeping rough in London by outreach teams - including 880 under-25s - a substantial rise on recent years1. Meanwhile, the loss of a private tenancy is now the number one cause of homelessness in the capital, accounting for a shocking 39% of those accepted as homeless in London in 2014/152.

Homelessness is a devastating experience that takes a heavy toll on people’s lives. The average age of death for a homeless person is just 47 and they are 13 times more likely to be victims of violence. 

The Mayor has significant powers to tackle homelessness, including a £34 million budget and the ability to bring boroughs and services together. While strides have been made - including the launch of innovative and successful services like No Second Night Out - even greater ambition is needed to tackle this growing problem.